NEW YORK, February 14. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump's approach to the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict indicates that Washington actually excludes Kiev from the negotiations, The Wall Street Journal said.
"Trump is treating Putin and Russia unlike any other negotiating counterpart. His usual method is to make maximalist demands and negotiate down. <...> But here he’s making major concessions first. Most concerning is that Trump seems to be excluding Ukraine as a negotiating party, much less partner," the newspaper said, noting that the US president announced the start of his peace talks after his phone call with Putin and informed Vladimir Zelensky about it afterwards.
The authors of the article also pointed to comments made by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the regular meeting of NATO defense ministers that Europe's leaders should take primary responsibility for ensuring its security. "It’s important to challenge Europe to spend more on its own defense and do more for Ukraine. But Hegseth’s remarks strongly implied that the Trump position is that Europe may soon be on its own," the newspaper pointed out.
Putin and Trump held a telephone conversation on February 12. According to the Kremlin, Trump expressed support for an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful settlement. Putin, for his part, mentioned the need to address the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be reached through peaceful negotiations, the Russian leader's press service said.